The big yellow school buses are back on the road, football is back on television, and pumpkin spice is back on the menu at your favorite coffee shop.
This can only mean one thing: Fall is on the horizon.
If you sell candy apples, run a roadside haunted attraction, or own a pumpkin patch, this is probably your busiest time of year. For many businesses, however, there’s a significant slump between summer’s hustle and bustle and the excited buzz of the holiday season.
If you find yourself in the latter boat, we have some ideas to improve your autumn!
9 Tips for Fall Marketing
1. Promo Your Fall Products and Services
Take a look at the products and services you offer. Does anything have an obvious seasonal tie-in? Create a promotion around it! For instance, a landscaping company might offer 25% off their leaf removal service, a bakery might run a BOGO deal on fall flavors, or a clothing retailer might discount their coziest sweaters.
2. Host Fall-Themed Giveaways
Everyone loves a good giveaway. Whether it’s a fall-themed basket full of goodies, a gift certificate to a local coffee shop or just some of your own swag, giveaways can net you plenty of fans and followers that will stick around long after the prize has been awarded.
3. Support the Home Team
Fall is synonymous with football, but if that isn’t your game, plenty of other school sports are in season, including volleyball, cross country, soccer and field hockey. Pick a local team to sponsor! It’s a great way to give back to your community and get recognition for your business.
4. Plan a Harvest Festival
A harvest festival — complete with fall-friendly food and drinks, games, music, and activities for the kids — is a fantastic way to get people into your brick-and-mortar shop. Bonus points if you partner with other businesses in your area and make it a block party!
5. Get (a Little) Spooky
Spooky season is a treasured part of fall for many people, so bring out your ghosties and ghoulies and create a mini-haunt to put your business on the map. Just remember: Not everyone celebrates Halloween, and those that do have wildly different scare thresholds. So it’s best to keep it more Casper and less Children of the Corn.
6. Spruce Up Your Social Media
Get people in the mood for fall by updating your social media covers and profile pictures. Anything autumn-like is free game, from falling leaves to harvest images to pumpkins.
7. Have a Competition
A friendly competition can bring a ton of engagement to your social media pages. Just give your followers a topic and let them run with it. Some suggestions: pumpkin carving, fall decorating, scarecrow making, spookiest Halloween decorations, or best fall recipe. The winner should be decided by likes or comments to make sure it’s fair for everyone.
8. Create Seasonal Content
You’re already creating content (or you should be, anyways), so why not add a fall twist to your blog posts and videos? Write about seasonal activities in your area. Rank Halloween candy from most popular to least popular. Interview your employees about their favorite fall traditions or their opinions on pumpkin spice. It doesn’t have to be all business all the time, and seasonal content is more likely to be shared than another “business as usual” blog post.
9. Plan for the Future
The holidays will be here before you know it, so if you find yourself with a few spare moments this fall, use them to plan ahead. Order your Small Business Saturday materials, book your space at upcoming holiday festivals and spend some time outlining potential promotions. Future you will be glad you did!
It’s Time to Gear Up for Fall!
Although the autumnal equinox (Sept. 22 this year) is still a few weeks away, now is the time to start preparing. The more you do today, the less you’ll have to do later!
Looking for more fantastic fall marketing ideas? Mischa Communications has plenty! We’re here to help all year long.